Jo Dee Messina postpones tour amid cancer battle

Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Jo Dee Messina will postpone her tour as she battles cancer.

The 47-year-old country star's team announced on her website Wednesday that Messina will take a break from performing to begin cancer treatments in the fall.

Messina will perform as scheduled Sept. 12, Sept. 23 and Sept. 26 before appearing Oct. 7 in Harrington, Del. The Oct. 7 show marks her "last tour date for the year," with all other 2017 dates to be rescheduled.

"Those of us at Team JDM wanted to be the first to let you know that she was recently diagnosed with cancer," the team wrote. "It has been a trying summer, but her heart has been filled with gratitude for the many opportunities she has had to see God's hand at work."

"We don't know anything specific regarding the treatment plan at this point, but Jo Dee is working closely with a team to explore all options," they added. "She has taken the semester off from classes at The King's University, and her last tour date for the year will be October 7."

Messina collaborated with producer Seth Mosley and songwriters Seth and Mia Fieldes on the song "Here" following her diagnosis. The star's team shared a lyric video for the song in their post.

Messina is known for such singles as "Bye, Bye," "Stand Beside Me," "That's the Way" and "Bring On the Rain" featuring Tim McGraw. She last released the album Me in March 2014, which includes the songs "Peace Sign" and "A Woman's Rant."